Question

Dorsey Co. has expanded its operations by purchasing a parcel of land with a building on it from Bibb Co. for $89,000. The appraised value of the land is $26,000, and the appraised value of the building is $92,000.

Required:
a. Assuming that the building is to be used in Dorsey Co.’s business activities, what cost should be recorded for the land?
b. Indicate why, for income tax purposes, management of Dorsey Co. would want as little of the purchase price as possible allocated to land. (Select all that apply.) Land is a current asset. Land is not a depreciable asset. Land value will not reduce taxable income. Land is a depreciable asset. Land value reduces taxable income.
c. Indicate why Dorsey Co. allocated the cost of assets acquired based on appraised values at the purchase date rather than on the original cost of the land and building to Bibb Co. Appraised values are to be used because they represent the historical asset value. Appraised values are to be used because they represent the book value. Appraised values are to be used because they represent the asset's current value.
d. Assuming that the building is demolished at a cost of $11,000 so the land can be used for employee parking, what cost should Dorsey Co. record for the land?

Answer 1

a. Cost of land = $19,610.17

b. Correct options are:

Land is not a depreciable asset.

Land value will not reduce taxable income.

c. Appraised values are to be used because they represent the asset's current value.

d. Cost of Land = $100,000

Step-by-step explanation:

a. Assuming that the building is to be used in Dorsey Co.’s business activities, what cost should be recorded for the land?

Total appraised value = Appraised value of the land + Appraised value of the building = $26,000 + $92,000 = $118,000

Cost of land = Purchase price * (Appraised value of the land / Total appraised value) = $89,000 * ($26,000 / $118,000) = $19,610.17

b. Indicate why, for income tax purposes, management of Dorsey Co. would want as little of the purchase price as possible allocated to land. (Select all that apply.)

Correct options are:

Land is not a depreciable asset. Note that an asset that is NOT eligible for tax and accounting purposes to register depreciation in compliance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules is considered NOT to be depreciable property. Since land s NOT eligible for tax and accounting purposes to register depreciation, it therefore not a depreciable asset.

Land value will not reduce taxable income. This due to the fact that land is not a depreciable asset as stated above.

c. Indicate why Dorsey Co. allocated the cost of assets acquired based on appraised values at the purchase date rather than on the original cost of the land and building to Bibb Co.

Appraised values are to be used because they represent the asset's current value.

The current value of an asset is the price at which it can be sold or settled as of the current date.

d. Assuming that the building is demolished at a cost of $11,000 so the land can be used for employee parking, what cost should Dorsey Co. record for the land?

Since it is assumed that the building is demolished, the addition of the purchase price and the cost of demolition will be recorded as the cost of land. This is because the demolition cost is the expense of preparing the land for its intended use. Therefore, we have:

Cost of Land = Purchase price + Cost of demolition = $89,000 + $11,000 = $100,000